


Playstyle

by timehopper



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Gamer Felix Hugo Fraldarius, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Wannabe Gamer Ashe Ubert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28245765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timehopper/pseuds/timehopper
Summary: Ashe is new in town. He makes fast friends with Annette, who introduces him to all her other friends -- including one Felix Hugo Fraldarius, whom Annette insists Ashe will bond with over their shared love of games.If only things really were that simple.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	Playstyle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nenalata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nenalata/gifts).



> This is a (very very very late) birthday present for Nenalata, who asked for modern AU Ashelix where they hang out and play games and stuff! With Felix being hardcore, Ashe liking RPGS, and maybe a little bit of D&D. Modern AU is a little out of my comfort zone but oh man did I have a blast writing this. Figuring out the dynamic between Ashe and Felix was so fun!
> 
> Since they're playing video games, I figure I should warn for minor spoilers just in case. So! There are some minor spoilers for the Kingdom Hearts series and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. If you're playing those games or plan to, and don't want to have some very minor game points/bosses spoiled, then please tread carefully.

D&D night was the highlight of Ashe’s week.

He was technically still new to the group (having been brought in by an enthusiastic Annette after they had met at a Pokémon event about a month ago), but Annette’s friends were kind and friendly and far more welcoming than Ashe had dared to expect. All Ashe had done was express a mild interest in roleplaying games, but that was enough for Annette: the moment the admission passed his lips, she invited him to her friends’ weekly sessions and adamantly refused to take no for an answer. 

“It’ll be fun,” she had said. “Mercie’s a really great storyteller, and I know all my friends are going to like you!” 

And she was right. Ashe hit it off with nearly all of Annette’s friends right away, even when he’d just been there to observe. By the third session, he’d had a character sheet and some pencils thrust at him alongside an invitation to join the game proper. 

Secretly, he was glad to have the position offered. He’d wanted so badly to join them, but felt awkward asking; luckily, Mercedes was kind, Annette enthusiastic, and Sylvain perceptive. Ashe had only had to point out a misreading of the rules once for all three of them to offer him a place at the table. 

“If only getting Felix to play was this easy,” Ingrid said, just before Ashe’s first session began. She placed her dice box on the table, removed the lid, and carefully laid each die out atop her character sheet. 

“Ugh, no way!” Annette protested. “He’d hate it. Right, Dimitri?” 

“I am afraid so,” Dimitri agreed with a somber, sagely nod. Ashe looked over at him as he gently set a six-pack of beers down in the center of the table. It had taken some time for him to get used to Dimitri’s big, imposing figure – let alone the eye patch – but now that he had, he couldn’t imagine ever having been afraid of him. “He never did like these sorts of games, even when we were children.” 

“That’s because he has no imagination,” Sylvain said as he reached for a beer.

Ashe blinked. “Uh,” he started, looking around the table uneasily. “Who’s Felix?” 

“Oh, right, you’ve never met him.” Sylvain grinned. “Just a friend of ours. Ingrid, Dimitri and I have all known him since we were kids.” 

“He can be… a touch abrasive,” Dimitri said. “And as I said, he is not really one for these types of games.” 

“We stopped inviting him to play after The Sword Incident,” Ingrid said, and everyone in the room shuddered involuntarily.

“The sword incident…?” 

“It is better you do not know,” said Dedue. 

Before Ashe could ask any further questions, Mercedes came in from the kitchen carrying a plate of cookies. “Now, now, that’s enough of that. I’m sure Ashe would much rather show us his new character than hear about old memories, wouldn’t you, Ashe?” 

“Uh… right!” He lifted his notes and character sheet off the table to bounce them against the wood and set them in a neat, orderly stack. “Since Ingrid’s already playing a paladin, I decided to go for a ranger, instead…”

“Oh, good! That will fill the party out nicely. Have you decided on a favoured terrain yet?” 

And so their game began, and all thoughts of who this mysterious ‘Felix’ was promptly fled Ashe’s mind.

* * *

He found out who Felix was not two weeks later, when he accidentally ran into Annette and Ingrid at the arcade. 

“Look, Ingrid, it’s Ashe! Hi, Ashe!” Annette called out to him as she stepped away from her game – a multiplayer rhythm game with colourful buttons that Ashe was entirely unfamiliar with. Beside her, Ingrid breathed a sigh of relief, clearly glad for a moment of respite. 

“Oh, hello, Annette,” Ashe said, stopping on his way to the coin machine. “Hi, Ingrid. What brings you here?” 

He regretted the question the moment he asked it – stupid; obviously they were there to play games, just like him – but Annette’s smile never faltered, and she took Ashe by the arm to spin him around and direct him to the game they had been playing. 

“They just put this new machine in!” she exclaimed. “The latest version of Pop’n Music. I don’t usually have much time to goof off here, but when Felix told me they finally got this in, I just had to come and play it.” 

“And I'm here because I’m waiting for Felix,” Ingrid said. “We have fencing practice today and I told him I’d pick him up. But Annette happened to be here too, and before I knew it, I was being dragged into playing this silly game with her, even though she _knows_ I’m terrible at rhythm games.” 

“Aw, don’t be like that, Ingrid! You’re fine,” Annette insisted, but the little bit of strain in her voice gave her away. Ashe lifted a hand to his mouth, balled it into a fist, and tried to hide his laughter. 

Ingrid’s eyes flashed to him. For a moment, Ashe thought she was about to scold him, but she ended up smiling, too. “See? Even Ashe agrees with me.” 

“That’s not true! Tell her, Ashe.” 

“Oh, uh… right, I…” 

But before he could conjure up a lie, he was interrupted by someone walking past him and stopping at Ingrid’s side. “Are you two finished yet?” 

“Are we – Felix, we were waiting for _you_ ,” Ingrid said, an indignant scowl on her face. “Honestly! You told me you were going to be ready to leave an hour ago, but you just kept sitting there and playing your stupid fighting game. Now we’re going to be late for practice!”

“Hmph. You could have just asked me to stop, and I would have.” The stranger – Felix, Ashe assumes – puts his hands on his hips. “Regardless, I’m ready now.” 

“So it would seem.” Ingrid bent at the knees to pick up her purse and coat. “Then let’s get–” 

“Oh, wait! Before you go – Felix, this is Ashe. Ashe, Felix.” Annette tugged on Ashe’s arm, pulling him as she moved to stand between the two of them. Felix’s eyes narrowed; his gaze turned from Annette to Ashe and Ashe smiled nervously under it.

“It’s uh, nice to meet you,” Ashe said, awkwardly extending his hand to Felix. Wordlessly, Felix looked down at it, gaze still sharp. 

“So you’re the new friend Annette and Sylvain won’t stop talking about,” he said. He looked back into Ashe’s eyes, and for a moment, Ashe wondered if maybe he should just lower his hand and leave. He didn’t much like the way Felix was looking at him – as if he was looking _through_ him, trying to find some reason not to trust him. 

But before he could make good on that thought, Felix took his hand. His skin was warm, pleasant to the touch; Felix’s palms were a little bit calloused, his fingertips rough. Clearly someone who used his hands a lot. “I didn’t know you were into games.” 

He let go. Ashe nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket. “Uh, yeah. Well, sort of. I don’t usually…” 

“Ashe, what are you saying? Of course you’re into games! That’s how we met, remember? We spent hours talking about Pokémon!” Annette said. 

“And Final Fantasy,” Ingrid added. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone other than me get so excited about the entire extended lore of Final Fantasy VII.” 

“Yeah, well…” 

“Oh, wait a second! Ashe, you and Felix should totally hang out!” Annette beamed at the two of them, head whipping back and forth as the idea took shape in her mind. “I bet you two would really hit it off. Felix is the best gamer I know, and you both get so excited about the things you like!” 

“Annette.” Felix glowered at her. 

“Even if Felix doesn’t like to admit it. Come on, it’ll be fun! Felix, you’re free on Saturdays, right? You should have Ashe over next weekend to play games.” 

“Ah, no, Annette, that’s okay–” 

Felix sighed. “You’re not going to let this go until I say yes, are you?” 

“Nope!”

“Fine.” With another put-upon sigh, Felix dug into his jacket pocket to fish out his phone. “Ashe, is it? Give me your number.”

Hesitantly, Ashe did as he was asked and handed his phone over. Despite his unease and the sense that this Felix guy really didn’t like him, he put his number in anyway. Annette’s friends had all been welcoming of him so far, so why should Felix be any different? 

Still, as he handed the phone back, Ashe couldn’t help but shake the feeling that what he’d just done would have dire consequences. 

* * *

Saturday, 2:30 PM. Ashe arrived promptly on time, punched in the number to Felix’s apartment on the buzzer, and marched up the stairs once he’d been let in. 

“Shoes off,” Felix said, not even a moment after Ashe stepped past the doorframe. He inclined his head toward the small rack next to the door. Ashe bristled, but complied; why wouldn’t he have removed his shoes? 

Apparently catching the look on his face, Felix let out a short huff. “Force of habit. Dimitri forgets every single time he comes over, like some kind of filthy beast.” 

The tension in Ashe’s shoulders ebbed away and he slipped his shoes onto the bottom shelf of the rack. Come to think of it, he _had_ noticed that Dimitri kept his shoes on every time they gathered for D&D night. “Right.”

He slipped his backpack off his shoulders, unzipped it, and removed a small plastic container from it before shoving it into the corner next to the shoe rack. Felix watched impassively.

“What’s that?” 

“Oh, this?” Ashe smiled and opened up the container. “I made some cookies for my sister the other day. It was her birthday, and we had some extra, so…” 

Felix frowned, nose wrinkling. “Are they sweet?” 

“Uh… yes?” Why wouldn’t they be?

Felix’s nose wrinkled. “Hm. You’ll have to finish them off yourself, then,” he said. “I don’t care for sweets.” 

“...Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know.” 

Felix shook his head. “It’s fine. I’m not… I thought Annette would have told you.” 

Annette hadn’t said a word to Ashe about what Felix liked or didn’t like, even though he had been texting her constantly in the two days leading up to this hangout. _Just be yourself!_ She had written. _Felix is kind of prickly, but he’s a nice guy. I’m sure you two will get along great!_

“Off to a great start, I guess…” 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing! I’m fine.” This time, Ashe’s smile was more sincere, tinged with self-deprecating laughter. Felix seemed to think nothing of it, because all he did was shrug in response and turn to lead Ashe into the apartment. 

Obediently, Ashe followed him down the short hall and into the living room. The walls were sparsely decorated in the hall – no photos to speak of, no mirrors or shelves or lights aside from the ones embedded in the ceiling – but the living room was something else entirely. 

“Whoa…” Ashe’s eyes went wide as he took in the decor: a large, expensive looking couch facing an enormous television and sound system, a low wooden coffee table, shelves full of games and books; and, most impressively of all, an extensive collection of swords mounted on the wall. Big ones, small ones, some sheathed in simple leather and others in thick, ornate scabbards.

Ashe had no idea what Felix did or what his family history was like, but it was clear just from this glimpse into his apartment that he must have been loaded. 

“Are these real?” Ashe asked, approaching one of the swords on the wall. He reached out to touch it, fingertips tracing the embossed metal scabbard. He wondered, idly, if this sword (or any of the others mounted on the wall) had been involved in ‘The Sword Incident.’

Behind him – and closer than expected – Felix hummed. Ashe jumped, withdrawing his hand as if the scabbard had burned him. 

“Of course they’re real,” Felix said. “What would be the point in displaying fakes?” 

Ashe turned to look at Felix. He blinked, disbelieving for a moment. This was the first time he’d seen anything like a smile on Felix’s face, or heard him speak with anything other than derision in his voice. But the way he sounded now, the way he looked at his swords… he almost looked _proud_. 

“I suppose you’re right,” Ashe said, trying to ignore the way his stomach flipped at that. He stepped to the side, moving around Felix, and said, “So… what sort of games do you like?” 

“Fighting games,” Felix answered without hesitation. He gestured for Ashe to take a seat on the couch, then moved over to one of the lower shelves near the TV. He slipped a few game boxes from it and brought them over to the table to spread them out in an array. “Annette didn’t say which ones you liked, so I assumed I would just let you choose one when you got here.” 

He sat down on the opposite end of the couch from Ashe and leaned forward, hands on his knees. 

“Ah… right.” Ashe looked down at the games on the table. He swallowed thickly. This was the exact kind of situation he had been hoping to avoid.

Truth be told, Ashe was never much of a gamer. Sure, he had games he liked – lots of them, really – and he knew of popular titles and series, like Mario or Call of Duty. Things everyone knew, even if they weren’t gamers. But outside of RPGs, those were _all_ Ashe knew.

Which meant he definitely had no idea what any of these fighting games were.

“Uh…” he shuffled through the games, picking up each one in turn and flipping the boxes over, hoping the screenshots on the back would clue him in as to what the games were actually like. He didn’t bother reading the descriptions, hasty as he was to just hurry up and pick one so Felix wouldn’t have to wait for him. “I don’t, um… Do you have Smash Brothers?” 

“No.”

“Oh. Then let’s see…” He leaned forward to take a closer look at the boxes he’d replaced on the table. On a second glance, he vaguely recognized some of the titles, but had no idea what to expect from any of them. 

He just had to face the fact: he had no idea what he was doing here. 

“Sorry,” Ashe said eventually, setting down the box for _Tekken 7._ “I don’t actually know anything about fighting games. I mostly play RPGs.” 

Felix scoffed, an amused smile tugging at his lips. “RPGs? Hm. Those are nothing but a waste of time.” 

“No they’re not!” Ashe stood suddenly, fast enough to surprise Felix. “They’re amazing! There’s so much to them – all the characters, and the relationships, and the different types of gameplay… and don’t even get me started on the stories! Sure, some of them can get kind of similar, but how can anyone ever get tired of fighting big, evil dragons with swords and the power of friendship?”

“Easily,” Felix said. “RPG combat is boring. There’s no skill involved; all you do is mash buttons or choose options off a menu.” 

“But some of the options are so cool! And it’s not about the fighting, anyway, it’s about the story–” 

“Hmph.” Felix picked a box up off the table and took it over to the PS4. “You’re really worked up over this.” 

“Of course I am!” Ashe spread his arms wide, as if imploring Felix to see reason. “I can’t believe you’re not! I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like RPGs.” 

“You have now.” Felix popped open the box, inserted the disc, and handed Ashe one of the controllers. Before Ashe could ask what they were playing, Felix said, “Get comfortable. We’re playing Street Fighter.” 

* * *

Felix kicked his ass. Quickly, efficiently, and mercilessly. 

“You weren’t joking,” Felix said after the eighth round in a row of laying Ashe out flat. “You really don’t know anything about fighting games.” 

Ashe laid the controller on his lap and reached up to rub the back of his neck. “Yeah. Sorry.” 

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Felix said. He set his controller down and leaned back on the couch, exhaling softly as he turned his head toward the ceiling. “I should have known. You were quite hesitant when Annette forced you into this.” 

He blinked, then shifted, lowering his head to fix Ashe with another stare. There was nothing angry in his gaze, just a curious furrow of the brow. “So why did you accept, anyway?” 

Ashe laughed breathlessly. That was the question, wasn’t it? In truth, he didn’t know why he’d given Felix his number, or why he’d agreed to go to a stranger’s house at the behest of his friend. All he’d known at the time was that he didn’t _want_ to say no. That he wanted to get to know Annette’s friends, and to be accepted by them. 

“I don’t really know,” he admitted. “I guess it was because I didn’t want to disappoint Annette. She seemed so excited for us to get to know each other, and I thought it would be nice to be friends with her friends, and…"

He trailed off. Ashe folded his hands in his lap and looked down at them, a little bit sheepish. He must have sounded ridiculous, justifying invading someone else's private space just because he wanted to please a friend. But when Felix sighed, and Ashe's eyes were drawn back to his face, he looked… relaxed. Not angry at all. 

"I see," Felix said. “So you were just trying to make Annette happy.”

“N-no! I mean, not just that,” Ashe admitted. “I wanted to get to know you, too.” 

“Hm.” Felix stood. He turned, angling his body away from Ashe as he walked around the coffee table and over to the PS4. He shut it off and removed the disc from it, then put it back in its case. “Well, if you want to get to know me better, you should practice. Next time we’ll play something easier.” 

“Next time?” Ashe couldn’t stop his voice from pitching upward hopefully. He hadn’t dared to hope there would be a next time, given his terrible performance with Street Fighter. 

“That’s what I said.” Felix didn’t bother to look at Ashe as he put the box back on the shelf. “It would be pointless to keep going now, and I can tell you’re not enjoying yourself.” 

Ashe shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t enjoying himself at all, but… Well, it would have been nice to win just _one_ match. But if he couldn’t even do that, and he was bad enough to make Felix want to stop playing...

His eyes fell back to his lap, only to be drawn up again when he heard Felix scoff. 

“It’s fine.” Felix waved a hand dismissively where he still sat on the floor. At last he turned to Ashe, an unreadable look on his face. “There’s no need to make that face. I’m not going to kick you out just because you’re terrible at fighting games, you know. There are other things we can do instead.”

* * *

They ended up doing very little of those ‘other things.’ Instead, they stayed on the couch, chatting about nothing in particular, and then everything and anything they could think of. Ashe asked Felix about his swords – where they came from, when they might have been used, what in particular they were meant to be used for – and Felix had happily answered any and all questions in passionate detail. 

He asked Ashe about his studies and about his work. Ashe told him he majored in medieval studies and worked part-time at a cafe to ease the burden of his student loans. He asked Felix what he did for money next, and Felix admitted most of what he made was earned from fighting game tournaments – specifically Mortal Kombat. 

“No way!” Ashe said. “No wonder I couldn’t beat you, you’re a pro!” 

“I’m not a pro,” Felix insisted. “And I have no intention of _going_ pro, before you ask.” 

Ashe shut his mouth. That had been exactly what he was going to say next. Seeing that, Felix scoffed – or maybe he laughed. It was hard to tell. “It’s just something I do in my spare time.” 

“Show me.” 

“...Huh?” 

“Show me how good you are! If you’ve won money playing some of these games, even if you don’t want to go pro, you must be amazing at them. Oh, and if I watch you, maybe I can learn something, so next time I won’t be completely useless!” 

Felix stared at him a moment, apparently at a loss for words. He pursed his lips, looking Ashe over for any sign of insincerity… and eventually relented, slumping back against the couch with a sigh. “Fine. But you won’t understand anything that’s going on.” 

Ashe laughed. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m told I’m a quick study.” 

That earned a smile from Felix – just a tiny quirk in the corners of his lips. “If you say so.” 

* * *

Five hours and four empty takeout boxes later, Ashe headed home.

His first hangout with Felix was… maybe not a rousing success, but it had been fun enough. Ashe had learned a few things about fighting games and about Felix, and Felix had managed to swallow down one of his cookies. He’d wrinkled his nose and frowned the whole time, but he had actually finished it despite complaining about how sweet it was, so that was something. 

And next time, they were going to try playing again.

Ashe knew he had no chance whatsoever of ever beating Felix. Another try – a quick match against the AI which Ashe had promptly lost – had proven that much. But he at least knew what a combo was now, and how each character played just a little bit differently. 

“You just have to find one that suits your playstyle,” Felix had said. 

Ashe didn’t think he’d be able to find any such character any time soon, but he appreciated the confidence. Especially coming from Felix who, despite his lack of interest in turning this into a career, was without a doubt exceptional at what he did. 

But even that was an understatement. Felix was… amazing. The way his hands moved on the controller, so seamless it seemed he was working by instinct rather than a conscious understanding of what he was doing, was nothing short of dumbfounding. Ashe couldn't even comprehend how he could move his thumbs so fast, nor how he could lock his opponent in combos so long they never even had a chance to hit him. 

Something about it was oddly… attractive. But before Ashe could properly analyze that thought, he reached the door to his apartment complex, opened it up, and shoved the thought away, hopefully never to be unearthed again. 

* * *

They didn’t see each other again for nearly two weeks. Misaligned schedules ensured that the only contact they had was through the occasional message to their group chat, which Felix hardly ever bothered to respond to unless addressed directly.

It felt… weird, not talking to him after they’d agreed to hang out again. Ashe wondered if he should text. He almost had, a few times. In the end, though, he decided not to.

And then another weekly D&D session rolled around. Seven friends gathered round the table, lights off and candles lit. 

“What’s with the setup, Mercedes?” Sylvain asked, right as the final match was blown out and Mercedes took her seat at the head of the table. 

“Atmosphere,” she said, voice low, smooth, and ominous enough to make Ashe shiver. “After all, tonight the six of you will be delving deep into the Crypt of Shambhala...” 

Ashe swallowed. Logically, he had known this was coming. Last week had ended with the party finding a map to said crypt, where the remains of the fearsome King of Liberation were supposedly being held. They were necessary for a ritual in the Holy Kingdom, but even so, Ashe had had his apprehensions about tonight’s session. Any situation in which he had to deal with the dead – fictional or otherwise – was one he never wanted to find himself in. 

But he stood fast in the face of his fear, and followed the paths Mercedes laid out for him and the others. Deeper and deeper they descended into the crypt, assailed by wandering ghouls and rotting flesh golems at every turn... until the monsters stopped, and the puzzles began.

“As you step into the next room,” Mercedes began, “you’re overcome by the sense that something is amiss. The temperature drops around you, the air frigid… If you could all roll constitution checks for me, please… and behind you, the brambles that litter the ancient crypt’s floor curl and twist around your ankles. For a moment, you worry they’re about to latch onto you, but instead they slither past your feet like snakes and crawl up the wall, growing and tangling up in each other until they seal the path behind you shut.

“Ahead of you is a massive door, pitch black and dull. There are two heavy rings set into it, presumably to function as handles, and no apparent locks. But behind the door, you hear something. Something big, pounding against the door…” 

_BANG, BANG, BANG._

“Bah!” 

“Ahh!” 

Ashe nearly leapt right out of his seat. He wasn’t the only one: Annette yelped even louder than he had, and she stood up, hand clutching her chest and the other behind her on the table for support. Even Ingrid, normally unflappable, was clutching her pencil like a weapon. 

_BANG, BANG, BANG._

“Oh, that must be the door,” Mercedes said, her voice as soft and pleasant as ever – a far cry from the deep, spooky one she had been putting on for the entirety of the session. “But who could be calling so late at night…?” 

“I-I’ll get it!” In his haste to open the door, Ashe actually did leap out of his seat this time. Anything to be away from the table, to get a chance to breathe and compose himself. It wasn’t real, he reminded himself. None of it was real…

He stopped in front of the door, and with a still-shaking hand, Ashe opened it. Before him stood Felix, brows knit together angrily. He shoved his way past Ashe and into the house, not even bothering to greet him before kicking off his wet shoes. 

“Oh. H-hey, Felix.” 

Felix stopped. It was as if the words dragged him back into reality, or at least alerted him that there was another human being in the room. For a moment, Felix looked shocked, but his expression soon settled into his usual veneer of annoyance. “Oh,” he said. “It’s you.” 

He narrowed his eyes at Ashe. Ashe swallowed thickly, suddenly struck by the realization that he was being analyzed. He backed up a step, cowed and confused and at a total loss for words. What exactly was he supposed to say to something like that? 

“Are you alright?”

Felix’s voice cut through Ashe’s unease. He looked up and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “Huh? Oh, y-yeah,” he said, though the stutter in his voice probably spoke louder than the words themselves. “I’m fine. I think we were just about to run into a ghost, and I guess I got a little spooked by you banging at the door.” 

Felix grunted. “I wouldn’t have had to bang on the door if Sylvain would just check his phone every now and then. It’s hideous out there.” 

Ashe looked past Felix and out the window next to the door. It _was_ gross out. He hadn’t even realized how hard it was raining. That would explain why Felix’s shoes were soaked. 

“Are you here to pick him up?” Ashe asked. Felix began to move into the hallway; Ashe followed him quietly, socks making no noise against the hardwood floor. 

“Yes. He wanted to drink tonight, so I agreed to pick him up. Why are all the lights out?” 

“Atmosphere.” 

Felix scoffed. “Of course.” 

They reached the living room. As soon as the others saw Felix, a collective sigh of relief echoed around the table. Ashe felt a little flicker of glee, pleased that the others had apparently been frightened, too. 

“Hello, Felix,” Mercedes said. 

“Mercedes.” Felix nodded to her in greeting before turning on Sylvain and fixing him with a downright terrifying glare. “ _You_. You said you would be done by midnight.” 

“Oh, is that the time?” Sylvain asked in the exact tone of voice that meant he was fully aware of how late it was.

“No,” Felix said. “It’s twelve-thirty. I knew you were going to be late, so I texted you half an hour ago to tell you I was on my way.” 

At that, Sylvain at least had the decency to look sheepish. He rubbed the back of his neck, a rueful grin spreading over his face. “Yeah, sorry. Must have missed it.” 

“It’s fine now though, right?” Ashe supplied. His gaze flitted back and forth from Felix to Sylvain. “You’re here now and out of the rain, so why don’t you join us for a while?” 

“Actually,” Dimitri interrupted, “If it’s alright with you, Mercedes, I think it is about time I headed home. I’ve stayed up far too late already.” 

“Oh? Since when are you an early bird?” Ingrid teased. 

“Since he began waking at dawn to visit the gym before work,” Dedue said. 

“You are welcome to join me, if you wish.” 

“No thanks!” Ingrid laughed. “I get precious little sleep as it is. But if you were willing to pay for breakfast, then perhaps…” 

“That’s fine, Dimitri.” Mercedes’ voice cut across the others as they began to strike up little conversations of their own. “This is a good spot to end tonight’s session. You can find out what’s behind the door next week!” 

“Oh… goodie…” Annette said, the words forced out between a tight, forced smile. She looked exactly as enthusiastic about the notion as Ashe felt. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, a sign of solidarity, and she laughed weakly.

Beside them, Felix huffed impatiently. “Come on, Sylvain, let’s go.” 

“Fine, fine.” With little argument and only a slight stumble in his gait, Sylvain moved past Felix and walked down the hallway to put his shoes on. 

“You two.” Felix turned to Ashe and Annette, fixing them with a stern look. “Shoes on. You’re coming, too.” 

“Huh?” 

“You’re giving us a ride?” Annette asked. For a moment she looked hopeful, but she quickly schooled herself and puffed out a cheek. “What’s the catch?” 

Felix raised an uncertain brow. “There’s no catch,” he said, exasperated. “It’s just a ride home. Your house is on the way to Sylvain’s, anyway, isn’t it?” 

“Hmm…”

“There’s no need to worry about me, Felix,” Ashe said. “I live pretty far, so I wouldn’t want to put you out. And the bus stop is right outside, so…” 

Felix sighed. “I don’t understand why it’s such a problem for me to offer you both a ride.” 

“They’re just being polite,” called Sylvain from the hall. “Or at least Ashe is. Come on, Annette, I know you appreciate it.” 

Annette’s face reddened. “Fine!” she said. “But you’re sitting in the back with me!”

“A chance to get close to someone as cute as you? I’m honoured.” 

“Shut up, Sylvain.” But Annette smiled, the red on her cheeks lightening to a soft pink flush. She tugged on Ashe’s arm, leading him out of Mercedes’ living room and down the hall. Felix followed a step behind, still confused, but when he caught Ashe looking, he shrugged it off with something almost resembling a smile.

* * *

The ride home was relatively quiet. Annette ended up dozing off pretty quickly, and Sylvain kept his chatter to a minimum so as not to wake her before her stop. Every now and then, Ashe added to what Sylvain said, explaining a part of the night’s adventure or correcting him on what actually happened. He could tell Felix wasn’t particularly interested, but the fact that he listened despite that was somehow comforting. 

And then they reached Annette’s house. She woke up, stepped out of the car, and headed inside. Sylvain did the same a few minutes later, leaving Ashe alone in the car with Felix. 

“You know, you really didn’t have to do this,” Ashe insisted, eyes fixed on the road ahead. The rain had abated somewhat, but it still speckled the windshield, every drop wiped away and replaced by another. It was hypnotic, almost, and with the heated seats, he found himself beginning to drift off. 

“I know,” Felix said. He turned a familiar corner. It wouldn’t be long before they reached Ashe’s apartment. 

“Then why…” 

He saw Felix shrug out of the corner of his eye, both hands on the wheel and one shoulder rising and falling slowly. “Mercedes loves ghost stories. Annette doesn’t,” he said simply. “And when I first walked in, you looked like you had seen a real ghost instead of just listening to a stupid tale. I assumed you were uneasy, so I offered you a ride home.” 

As Felix explained, Ashe’s eyelids started to droop, the allure of sleep calling to him. But when he stopped speaking, and Ashe had a moment to process what he’d just heard, he sat up straighter, eyes opening more fully. “You thought I was scared?” 

“Weren’t you?” 

He was. 

The car slowed to a stop in front of Ashe’s apartment complex. Felix shut the engine off, leaving them alone in darkness for a moment, the silence without the running engine somehow deafening, but at least that meant Felix couldn’t hide the quiet, amused huff that slipped from his lips. 

“I thought so,” Felix said at last. “You know ghosts aren’t real, right?” 

“You don’t know what I’ve seen.”

Felix’s brows shot up. He stared at Ashe a moment, utterly bewildered, and only turned away when Ashe began to laugh. His laughter was soft and sleepy. Unintentional, too – he didn’t mean to laugh at Felix, really – but he couldn’t help himself. He never would have expected that sort of look to cross competent, confident, abrasive Felix’s face before now. 

“Sorry,” he said, the word tapering off into a yawn. He looked out the window, eyes moving up the lit path and settling on the lobby doors. He smiled, relieved to finally be home, and at last opened the car door. 

“Thanks for the ride,” Ashe said. 

“There’s no need to thank me,” Felix replied. 

“If you say so. Good night, Felix.” 

No response. Ashe smiled to himself as he pulled his bag out of the car, shut the door behind him, and headed inside.

* * *

After that, things didn’t change much between him and Felix. They didn’t see each other often, and neither of them were in much of a rush to plan a day together. Not that their schedules aligned most of the time regardless; the one time it did, it was on a day when everyone was free, and so the whole group planned a day out. 

The key word being ‘planned.’ But, like many good plans, this one fell apart at the seams. And quickly, at that.

First it was Sylvain bowing out because he’d manage to score a date with someone he’d been flirting with for weeks. Then it was Annette’s father coming home for a brief period of time before he had to leave on his next business trip, whatever that was. Then it was Dimitri catching a cold, Dedue taking care of him, and Ingrid and Mercedes catching it from them when they went to check up on their friends. 

That left Felix and Ashe. And, instead of cancelling altogether, they decided that today would be the day they took another stab at fighting games. 

“What did you pick out this time?” Ashe asked as he stepped out of his shoes and headed into the living room. “Not something difficult, I hope.” 

“I told you we would start with something easy,” Felix said. He crouched by the game shelf and dragged a finger over each box as he searched for the one he wanted. “I thought we could start with Skullgirls, but you’re afraid of ghosts, so…” 

“A fighting game about ghosts?” 

“Not exactly.” Felix picked the box off the shelf and leaned back to hand it to Ashe. Front and center on the cover was a rather ghostly looking girl shaded in black. At her back floated a skull with lightning coming from it, and between the lines of lightning were other characters’ faces. All in all it looked a little spooky, in a cartoony kind of way, but…

Ashe bit his lip, considering. “If it’s just a game it should be fine. The characters look kind of cute, I guess…” 

He handed the box back to Felix, who raised a brow at him. “Are you sure?”

“You said this one was easy, right? Good for beginners?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then I think so.” 

“...All right.” Felix shrugged with one shoulder and put the game in.

* * *

As it turned out, it was not fine. Felix ran Ashe through the basics of the game, showing how the mechanics worked by playing a few rounds on his own. Ashe imitated the inputs on his own controller as Felix showed them to him – slowly, thankfully – and Ashe found that they were surprisingly straightforward. 

And then it came time to choose characters. While Felix was right, and there weren’t any actual ghosts (as far as he could tell), some of the characters were notably off-putting. 

“Gah! What _is_ that? Why does she have a… a thing sticking out of her back?” he asked as he highlighted one of the characters. 

“That’s Painwheel,” Felix said. “She’s just… like that.” 

“Okay. Not choosing her, then, I guess.” He scrolled to the next few. Zombie Girl was a no; Felix picked Umbrella Girl, so that was out; Hair Mouth kind of grossed Ashe out…

“Oh, there’s a cat girl?” 

“If you didn’t like Painwheel, I don’t think you’ll like Ms. Fortune.” 

“Oh, come on, she’s cute!” 

Felix rolled his eyes. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

They started the game. Felix gave Ashe some time to figure out the controls and learn the moves, guiding him when he messed up some of the inputs. But not even thirty seconds into the round, Ashe realized exactly why he had been warned. 

“Her _head comes off?!_ ”

* * *

In the end, Ashe couldn’t do it. He switched off of Ms. Fortune and tried Arm-Hat Girl, but even then the game was a little bit too much for him. He’d been able to pick away at Felix’s character’s health, but regardless, he’d still lost, and after three rounds of pretending he was fine with the spooky background characters and the occasionally creepy backdrops, he was forced to admit defeat. 

“You’re getting the hang of the inputs, at least,” Felix said. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised that Ashe couldn’t make it through another round. “But I had a feeling you wouldn’t enjoy that game.”

“It’s just cartoons,” Ashe said miserably, dragging a hand over his face. “They’re not real.” 

“There’s no need to tell me that,” Felix said. When Ashe lifted his hand from his eyes, he caught a tiny quirk at the edge of Felix’s lip. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” 

“I’m not laughing.” 

“Yes you are!” 

Felix sighed, but in doing so, his smile only grew. He turned away. “Then stop being such a fool. Come on, let’s try Street Fighter again.” 

* * *

Ashe did far better this time. As it turned out, Felix was right: he just had to find a character that suited him. It just so happened that he picked Ken because he seemed kind of cool, but his playstyle worked well enough for Ashe that he almost managed to whittle Felix down to half health. 

As far as Ashe was concerned, that was as good a win as any. 

* * *

By the time they finished playing, Ashe could say he was almost competent at Street Fighter V. He still had no chance of ever beating Felix, but at least now he could somewhat hold his own. 

As he stood at the door and slipped on his jacket, Felix leaned against the wall. He didn’t bother looking at Ashe, even as he opened the door; but before Ashe stepped over the threshold and back outside, Felix stopped him. 

“Next time,” he said, still not looking Ashe in the eye, “Bring one of your games.” 

Ashe beamed. “You got it!” 

* * *

‘Next time’ was only a week later. 

Felix surprised Ashe by being the one to invite him over. He said he had some unexpected free time, so if Ashe wanted, they could game together again. Something about that struck Ashe as odd – Felix was not the type to have much spare time, and what little he did have he seemed to spend either training for tournaments, practicing fencing forms, or otherwise working out and exercising – but he didn’t protest; any excuse was a good one to hang out with Felix. 

(Ashe decided he didn’t want to think about that. It was a thought to be dissected later, or maybe never.)

He stepped into the now-familiar apartment and shrugged off his coat. Felix shut the door behind him and made his way into the living room proper, leaving Ashe alone to hang it up in the closet himself. 

“This game is a little bit odd, but it’s kind of fun,” Ashe said as he placed the coat hanger back on the rack. “I’ve already started it, but I haven’t gotten very far, so you won’t miss much. I’m only just past the tutorial.” 

“What is it?” Felix asked. He sat down on the couch and kicked his feet up, leaning back against the cushions. 

“Kingdom Hearts.” 

Felix frowned, brows knotting in confusion as he watched Ashe put the game in. “Isn’t that the Disney game?” 

“It’s so much more than that!” Ashe said. He skipped over to the couch and took his seat next to Felix as Felix set the game up. “It’s a really heartfelt tale about three friends who traverse a bunch of different worlds to save them from darkness!” 

“With Mickey Mouse.” 

“Actually, he doesn’t show up very much. You spend most of your time with Donald and Goofy…”

“Ah. Wonderful.” 

“Just trust me, Felix, you’re going to love it.”

* * *

Felix did not love it. 

Ashe supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. While he was right that Felix would excel at the combat, he realized about half an hour into the first world that this was not the kind of thing he would enjoy. He watched the cutscenes with little interest and even less comprehension. Even when Ashe explained the concepts to him, Felix had stared at him with a mixture of confusion and horror. 

“This is idiotic.” He put the controller down and flopped back against the couch, head tilted up toward the ceiling. “Why do I have to play a dancing minigame?” 

“That’s just how this series is,” Ashe said. “And it’s not that hard, watch.” 

He picked up the controller. Felix sat up. “The challenge of it isn’t the problem. I just… I don’t understand why this is necessary, or what’s going on.” 

“Oh! Have you not watched ‘Tangled?’”

“I have. It’s one of Annette’s favourite movies.” 

“Well, we’re basically playing through Tangled so that Sora can regain all his lost powers, which happened at the end of Dream Drop Distance, because Sora almost got his body hijacked by Xehanort–” 

“Who?”

“He’s the main villain. In this game, his goal is to unite thirteen different copies of himself, and in the last one he tried to make Sora one of his copies, but he ended up using the revived Nobodies from Organization XIII–” 

Felix laid a hand over his face. “Do I even want to know what a Nobody is?” 

“It’s the leftover body of someone who lost their heart. See, when you lose your heart, it makes a Heartless, and the leftover body becomes a Nobody…” 

“Wait.” Felix’s hand slid down his face. Ashe turned to look at him, a smile on his face – which fell almost immediately when he realized Felix looked about ready to explode. “Are you telling me that the ‘Heartless’ have hearts, and the ‘No-bodies’ have bodies?” 

Ashe beamed. “That’s exactly what I’m saying!” 

Felix grabbed one of the cushions and buried his face in it. “I think I hate this game. I think I actually, legitimately hate it.” 

* * *

Despite Felix’s apparent hatred for Kingdom Hearts, he continued to listen to Ashe as he explained the lore, and continued to watch as he played the game. Any time a boss fight came up, Ashe handed off the controller so Felix could show him up and kill the thing in record time. They ended up making quite a bit of progress, all things considered. 

By the time they decided to call it a night, when their eyelids began to droop and their movements became slow, sluggish, and heavy, the buses had long since stopped running. 

“I didn’t realize it was so late,” Ashe murmured around a yawn. He slumped against the couch armrest and fought to keep his eyes open. Naturally, he lost that battle, and Felix had to snap his fingers to keep him from dozing off. 

“Wake up,” Felix said. “Hey. Ashe.” 

“‘M ‘wake…” Ashe’s eyes fluttered open. Felix stood before him, bent over at the waist, face shockingly close. 

Ashe jumped back. 

“Good. Now get up; I can’t make the couch up for you if you’re still on it.” 

“Oh. Right.” Ashe stood sleepily, still trying to blink away the fatigue. It was only after Felix left to fetch something out of a nearby closet that Ashe realized what was going on. “Wait, aren’t you going to kick me out?” 

Felix shook his head. “Don’t be foolish. The buses aren’t running, getting a taxi would cost too much, and I’m too tired to drive you home. You can stay here for the night.” 

Ashe shuffled his weight from foot to foot. “Don’t you have fencing practice in the morning?” 

“Yes.” Felix kicked the closet door shut behind him and made his way back over to the couch, a bundle of sheets and blankets in his arms, and Ashe could have sworn there was a tiny smile on his face. “I’ll kick you out when I leave, so don’t sleep in.” 

Ashe nodded, giving Felix a smile of his own. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

* * *

Sleeping over at someone else’s house had never been much of a problem for Ashe. Having moved homes a lot as a kid, he liked to think he was pretty adaptable, and he took some pride in being able to get comfortable and fall asleep just about anywhere. It could be cold as ice or hot as an afternoon desert – as long as he had a roof over his head and nothing to fear, Ashe could fall asleep. 

But tonight, as it turned out, he _did_ have something to fear. 

The first sound was innocuous enough: nothing but a little thump on the floor. Ashe wasn’t even sure he heard it at first, and a quick glance around the dark living room showed nothing was amiss. All the swords were still in place, his bag was right where he left it, and Felix was still in his room, probably fast asleep by now. 

He settled back down, head resting lightly on the pillow. Ashe took a deep breath to calm himself, then closed his eyes. It was just his imagination – just unease at the impromptu sleepover. That was all. Nothing more. 

And then he heard it again. Another thump, this time from the kitchen. 

It was louder this time, too, and accompanied by a second sound: something falling over. Ashe sat up straight, every muscle in his body tense. He looked toward the kitchen with wide eyes and slowly, slowly, reached for his phone. 

Something moved. 

“Ah!” 

Ashe snatched his phone right off the table. Whatever had moved before just moved again, faster than Ashe’s eyes could trace. He fumbled with his phone, frantically swiping at the screen until he could open his flashlight app – and when he did, something glinted in the light. 

Two somethings – two bright, round, yellow somethings. 

A ghastly pair of eyes. 

“Ahh! Gh-gh-ghost!” 

He screamed, and the ghost shrieked back at him. Ashe ducked behind the couch’s low armrest and covered his head with his pillow, hoping against hope that the ghost wasn’t smart enough to look for him there. Did ghosts have a sense of object permanence? Oh, goddess above, if they did, then Ashe was screwed, he was done for, he was–

“What is going on out here?” 

The light clicked on. Ashe slid out from under the pillow to find Felix, dressed in a simple T-shirt and sleep pants, standing in the doorway to his room. 

“Felix!” Ashe shouted, hand over his heart. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you! But your house – I think it’s haunted, I swear I just saw–” 

He cut himself off with a yelp as whatever had moved in the kitchen scurried behind the couch in a quick black blur. “There! See?!”

Felix rolled his eyes. He dipped out of Ashe’s line of sight for a moment as he crouched down to the ground, and when he came up, the – the _thing_ was in his arms. 

The black, fuzzy, mewling thing. 

...Oh. 

“Are you talking about the cat?” Felix asked. He glared at Ashe, tired and exasperated, and Ashe shrunk in on himself. 

“I guess I am,” he muttered. “Since when do you have a cat?” 

“Since always.” Felix put the cat down and it ran off into one of the other rooms lining the hall. “But he’s skittish, so he usually keeps away when I have company. I thought you knew.” 

“How was I supposed to know if he hides all the time? You never told me!” 

“He was sniffing around earlier,” Felix said, almost petulant. But he shook his head and sighed, clearly annoyed. “Whatever. My house isn’t haunted. But if he’s going to keep you up, then just come sleep in my room. I keep the door shut so he doesn’t wake me.” 

“Your… room?” Ashe blinked. 

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” 

“Uh…” 

“Just hurry up.” 

He shut the lights off, turned on his heel, and walked back into his room. And though he knew he was supposed to follow Felix, for a moment all Ashe could do was stare at the empty space. The relief that had flooded him and soothed his frantic heart just moments ago was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread. Or... maybe something else. Whatever it was, it had Ashe’s heart racing again, pounding so hard against his ribs he thought it might break them. 

He was about to see Felix’s room. 

He was about to _sleep_ in Felix’s room. 

Ashe swallowed. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. The invitation shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did. And yet here he was, brimming with anxiety, and somehow, against all odds, fighting back a hysterical grin. 

“Are you coming or not?” Felix called from his room. 

“Yes! Coming!” Ashe grabbed one of the blankets off the couch, threw his legs over it, and hastened to Felix’s bedroom, trying (and failing) to ignore the heat in his cheeks. 

He stood in the doorway. Felix was already in bed, covers turned down at the side closest the wall to let Ashe in. Ashe took a moment to look around; it was dark – Felix hadn’t bothered to turn the lights on – but Ashe could see enough to know that Felix’s room was quite tidy, just like the rest of his house. There were some clothes scattered on the floor by the closet, and a few bottles and glasses on the desk, but other than that, nothing was out of place. 

“Quit staring and get in bed,” Felix said. “It’s cold.” 

It wasn’t that cold, but Ashe supposed he couldn’t blame Felix for his impatience. It was late, after all, and Felix had to get up early. So, without further hesitation, Ashe shut the door behind him and crawled into bed. 

The first thing he noticed was that Felix’s bed was… comfortable. The blankets were thick and soft, the mattress firm but not hard. It would have lulled Ashe right to sleep immediately were he not so nervous.

Not that he had any reason to be nervous. There was nothing unusual about sharing a bed with a friend. A very abrasive, yet oddly caring friend. Not to mention how handsome he was…

Ashe swallowed. This was, perhaps, the worst time for him to be thinking about Felix like that, so he forced his mind to wander to other things instead. Things like gaming, or fencing, or the cat that had scared him half to death…

A moment passed. 

“Hey, Felix,” Ashe murmured. “Are you still awake?” 

“No.” Felix rolled over, and Ashe turned to face him. “What do you want?” 

“What’s your cat’s name?” 

Felix’s eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t have one. Now go to sleep.” 

Ashe gaped. How could he possibly sleep after _that_ little revelation? “What do you mean he doesn’t have a name? How can he not have a name?” 

“I never got around to naming him,” Felix grumbled. “Who cares? Go to sleep.” 

“He’s your pet; you have to name him.” 

“No I don’t.” 

“But what’s a good name for a cat? Hm, he’s all black, so maybe something related to that…” 

“Ashe.” 

“Or – oh! You could name him after a character you like. My old roommate and I used to have a cat, before I moved. We named it Loog. Oh, maybe yours can be Kyphon–” 

“I am not naming my cat Kyphon. Those stories are for children.”

“Oh, so you’ve read them too! Then what about – no, wait, if you didn’t like Kyphon, then Pan probably isn’t a good idea either. Hmm…” 

Ashe rolled onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, a hand on his chin as he contemplated names. 

Beside him, Felix said nothing. 

“Oh, wait, what was the cat girl’s name in that one game we played? Skullgirls?” 

“For the love of the goddess…” Felix groaned. “Ms. Fortune. I’m not naming my cat _Ms._ Fortune. He’s not a girl.” 

“How about just Fortune, then?” 

And that, it seemed, was the final straw. Felix reached out, grabbed Ashe by the chin, and forced him to look him right in the eye. “Ashe Ubert, if you value your life, you will silence yourself right now, and let me go. the _fuck_. to sleep.”

He let go. Ashe stared back at him, wide-eyed, even as Felix turned around to face the wall. “Good night.” 

“...Uh, right. Good night, Felix.” 

He didn’t say another word after that. 

* * *

Ashe woke early. Even earlier than intended, and much earlier than he wanted. Sunlight filtered in through the window, illuminating his face and piercing the darkness behind his eyelids. Ashe shuffled away from it, closer to the middle of the bed, groaning quietly to himself as he tried to hide away.

And then he felt something. Something warm, against his knee, bent and pulled up close to himself. 

Ashe opened his eyes, suddenly vividly reminded that he was not in his own bed, but in someone else’s. And not just any someone else’s.

 _Felix’s._

A reminder that was, quite literally, staring him in the face. Or would be, if Felix were awake.

Ashe swallowed. Every alarm bell in his mind went off at once, telling him to get up, get out of there, pretend he hadn’t seen anything. And normally, he would have listened to them, but all his panic was quickly and succinctly stamped out, overshadowed by the realization that Felix Fraldarius – stubborn, brooding, and aloof – was _drooling_. 

He could almost laugh, the sight was so absurd. Prickly, abrasive Felix, with his ever-knitted brows and omnipresent frown, drooled in his sleep. And somehow, against all odds, it was adorable. Or maybe it was just that, like this, there was no pretense, no act for Felix to keep up. Asleep, his guard was down. Asleep, he was vulnerable. 

And he’d allowed Ashe to see him like this. 

No, that wasn’t right. He hadn’t exactly allowed it – he had just offered Ashe his bed to help him sleep. But even so… 

Without thinking, Ashe drew his hand out from under the sheets. A strand of hair had fallen over Felix’s face, so he reached for it to tuck it away…

The alarm went off. 

Ashe jumped back, pulling his hand tight to his chest. Felix moved, his eyebrows furrowing as he slowly regained consciousness. He groaned; Ashe squeezed his eyes shut and rolled over, pretending that he, too, was just waking up.

Felix sat up. The alarm was still sounding off, ringing in a steady, even rhythm, even as Felix leaned over Ashe and groped around for his phone. 

“Move,” he grunted. Ashe did as he was told, and a moment later, the ringing ceased. 

Felix flopped down on the bed and buried his face in his pillow. Ashe couldn’t help but laugh, even though he knew he shouldn’t – Felix seemed exhausted, and it was at least partially his fault...

...Okay, it was mostly his fault. Regardless, the noise got Felix’s attention, and he sat back up, blearily blinking sleep from his eyes. 

“Good morning,” he said, voice deep and thick. A chill ran through Ashe, one that couldn’t be suppressed by pulling the blankets tighter around him. 

“Good morning, Felix.” 

And, despite how late they had stayed up, and how tired they both clearly still were, Ashe couldn’t help but feel that this was, indeed, a very good morning. 

* * *

He left around the same time Felix did. There was no time for Felix to drop him off at home, and so he hadn’t offered – much to Ashe’s secret relief. He had nothing going on today, and so he planned, on his way home, to visit a local game shop and find something he and Felix could enjoy together. 

The shop was nearly empty when he arrived. The only person present was the manager, a man with faded green hair Ashe had come to know fairly well over the last few months. 

Despite that, Ashe wasn’t exactly sure he could call Byleth a friend. Their relationship was strictly buyer-seller, but even so, there was something about Byleth that inspired trust. He wasn’t chatty, but he was careful and observant, and he always seemed to know exactly which games to recommend.

And that was exactly what Ashe was here for today. 

“Hello, Ashe,” Byleth greeted, his voice a pleasant monotone and his face betraying no hint of any emotion. “You’re here early.” 

It was true. Thinking about it, Ashe realized that the store must have only just opened. “Yeah,” he said, a touch sheepish. “I was at a friend’s house last night, and I figured I would stop in on the way home.” 

“I see.” Byleth paused a moment, eyes boring, unblinkingly, into Ashe’s. “Is this the friend you told me about?” 

“Oh, uh… yes. It is.” 

“Did he like Kingdom Hearts?” 

Ashe shook his head. “No,” he said, unable to keep the dejection from his voice. “That’s what I’m here about, actually. I was hoping you could help me pick out another game, one that we would both like…” 

“Ah.” Byleth stood and walked over to one of the many shelves lining the store. He didn’t need to beckon Ashe to follow him; Ashe did so instinctively. “Okay, then. What does he like?” 

“Fighting games,” Ashe said. “He’s really good at them, too, but I was kind of hoping to stay away from them, since I’m terrible and he said he wanted to try–”

“No, no.” Byleth shook his head. “What does he _like_?” 

Ashe hummed. What _did_ Felix like, outside of fighting games? He liked fencing, and working out, and…

“Oh, he likes swords. There are a bunch hanging on his apartment walls…”

Byleth nodded. “And what’s his favourite fighting game?” 

Ashe shifted his weight from foot to foot, trying to remember. “Well, we mostly played Street Fighter, but I think he said he liked another game better… He plays in tournaments sometimes, I think for… Mortal Kombat?” 

Once again, Byleth nodded. He walked over to the next shelf and ran a finger over a row of game cases on it, stopping only when he found what he was looking for. 

“I think I know just the thing.” 

* * *

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was not the kind of game Ashe ever would have picked out for himself. He probably wouldn’t have picked it out for Felix, either. It was only at Byleth’s insistence that it still had some RPG elements in addition to its focus on combat and boss battles that Ashe finally took it – that and a little bit of extra assurance that even though there were ghosts, they didn’t feature all that prominently in the gameplay.

Ghosts or not, Ashe figured buying this game was worth it, if only for the way Felix’s face lit up when he saw the cover (which really meant that he looked intrigued, rather than dismissive). 

“It looks… interesting,” he said carefully, turning the box over so he could examine the back. Ashe smiled and made his way over to the couch to boot up the PS4. 

“I don’t really know much about the game other than what Byleth told me when I bought it, but I looked some stuff up online. It’s supposed to be really challenging,” he said. 

“Is it, now?” 

Felix made his way over to the console to pop the game in. As soon as the disc registered, Ashe started the download. “Yeah,” he said. “Have you ever played Dark Souls? It’s something like that, so it focuses a lot on combat, but I think there’s more of an emphasis on boss battles? I kind of just skimmed the articles about it, since I didn’t want any spoilers.” 

“Hm.” Felix joined him on the couch. He kicked his feet up onto the table and reached for the controller. “So I take it I’ll be playing, then.” 

“I wouldn’t be any good at it.” Ashe had tried playing Soulsborne games in the past. Every single attempt had been a complete and utter disaster, and he’d ended up giving the games away just so he’d never have to look upon them and remember his failure again. 

(It was another reason why he had been hesitant to get Sekiro, at first, but he figured in the end since he wasn’t going to be the one suffering through it, it would probably be fine.) 

Felix, smug bastard that he was, smirked. “If your fighting game prowess is anything to go by, I can believe that.” 

“Hey! You said I was getting bett–” 

“Shh.” Felix inclined his head toward the TV screen, which showed that the download had finished and Felix had already started the game. “I want to watch the opening.” 

* * *

_You just have to find one that suits your playstyle_. Those had been Felix’s words, all those months ago, back when he and Ashe had first started hanging out. He’d meant it in the context of fighting games, but the advice had proven to be useful in other matters, too.

Felix _loved_ Sekiro. All of Ashe’s apprehension about the game and whether or not it was a good pick had dissolved after the first boss fight. Felix had lost that fight, but he’d held his own for quite a while and, intrigued by the cutscene that had followed, had actually seemed excited for what came next. 

He liked the combat, he liked the story, and he even liked watching Ashe manage all the RPG elements. The game was a little bit bloody for Ashe’s tastes, but he almost didn’t mind – not when he was having so much fun, watching Felix kill boss after boss and cheering him on from the sidelines.

That first night, they played for hours. The next time, they played even longer. It became routine for them to meet once every week or so – whenever they had the time, really – to do nothing but sit on the couch and play. It wasn’t quite an obsession, but it was consuming in ways Ashe hadn’t expected. 

But maybe he should have. As much as the story enraptured him, and as much as he loved watching Felix overcome each and every challenge that the game threw his way, what he was more interested in was the way Felix looked when he was playing: deeply focused, eyes fixed on the screen, sharp features illuminated by the glow of the screen, the echoes of a smile on his face. More rarely, an actual smile, or a triumphant grin, or a smug smirk; in those moments, Ashe swore he could feel his heart skip a beat in a way that had nothing to do with the blood spilling on the screen. 

And then, as all good things were wont to do, the game crept closer to its end. 

“Damn it!” 

Ashe jumped. Next to him, Felix’s entire body jerked as he jumped back, seething at his latest defeat at the hands of the Demon of Hatred. He dropped the controller and buried his face in his hands, letting out an anguished and most un-Felix-like cry of frustration. 

Ashe reached out for him. “H-hey, it’s okay, Felix! Maybe we should take a break anyway, it’s getting late…” 

“No.” Felix dragged his hands down his face and slumped forward to pick the controller back up. He didn’t shrug Ashe’s hand off his shoulder when it landed there, nor did he comment on the soothing circles Ashe rubbed into it with his thumb. “I will defeat this demon.” 

“I know you will.” Ashe assured him. “But… maybe next time? I think there’s another boss after this, and I should really be getting home…” 

Felix shook his head. “No,” he repeated. “We finish this tonight.” 

* * *

Thirteen attempts later, Felix defeated Demon of Hatred. Twenty-two attempts on the final boss later, Felix still hadn’t beaten the game. 

“The first two phases are fine,” Felix mumbled to himself as the death screen faded in. His leg bounced erratically, the adrenaline of the last fight – he’d gotten the Sword Saint down to the second-last phase – still looking for an outlet. “Genichiro is nothing. The first Isshin is fine. But that one attack, I just can’t…” 

He groaned, aggravated, and started the game again, even though he was still shaking. Ashe reached out for him and laid a hand on Felix’s knee to try and stop it from bouncing. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. Felix nodded, silent and resolute, and began the final fight again. 

He did well this time. Ashe watched with bated breath as Felix gradually whittled the boss’s health down, chipping away at the first two phases with all the frantic energy of someone barely clinging to their sanity. 

“Watch out! The sweep–” 

“No, that’s the stab – ha!” Felix’s entire body jerked to the side as he dodged; the enemy’s attack missed, but just barely. 

“Ah! I thought he had you there – no! Deflect, deflect! Felix!” 

“I am!” 

_Clang! Clang!_ The enemy’s attacks came up short against Felix’s sword, and the Sword Saint paused to ready an attack, leaving room for–

“Damn it!” 

Felix died. Ashe squeezed his leg and Felix slumped forward, head almost between his knees, all the tension leaving his body at once. 

“Maybe we should call it a night,” Ashe suggested again softly. “It’s nearly three in the morning…” 

“I can do this,” Felix said without looking up. He sounded half delirious. “I almost made it to the next phase.” 

“You did, but…” 

“Again.” He sat up and stared directly at the screen, eyes narrowed and focused. And then he began again, urging Sekiro back to the battlefield. 

* * *

Another death. 

“That spear’s range is too long; how am I supposed to avoid it and stay close enough to attack?! This is ridiculous,” Felix murmured.

Another death.

“Can you not deflect that?” 

“I’ve tried!” Felix groaned. “Ugh. Okay. Again.” 

Another death. 

“Maybe try staying a little further out of range?” 

“And then wait until he swings the spear and closes in… Yeah. Yeah, that could work…” 

Another death, and another, and another. The controller bounced against the couch cushions, frustration driving Felix to toss it aside. 

“Is that actually a gun? Why does he even have that?!” he yelled at the ceiling. Ashe jumped back and tried in vain to swallow down the laugh bubbling in his throat. It was hard, though – Ashe was exhausted, and so he wasn’t quite in complete control of his body anymore. But Felix was even worse off; he couldn’t even be bothered to try and hide his aggravation. 

“Don’t you – don’t you laugh!” Felix shouted, a laugh of his own breaking free from his throat. Goddess, he must have really been delirious by this point. 

“I’m not laughing!” Ashe insisted, though he very clearly was. “I just – you’re right, it’s ridiculous.” 

“This whole game is ridiculous.” 

He shook his head. Ashe mirrored the motion, wiping a tear from his eye before fixing his gaze on Felix. “Yeah, it is,” he said. “But it’s been fun, right?” 

Felix sighed. And, miracle of miracles, he smiled, openly and unabashedly fond as he turned his gaze back to the screen. 

“...Yeah,” he admitted. “It has been.” 

The two of them stayed like that a moment, the soft grey-blue glow of the TV illuminating them in the otherwise pitch-black room. Somewhere behind them, Felix’s cat – who had officially been named Fortune by now – skittered across the floor, probably making his way to the kitchen. 

And for that one long, silent, time-suspended moment, Ashe thought he might be the happiest person in the world. 

He reached across the couch and nudged Felix playfully. “One more try?” 

Felix nodded. “One more.” 

* * *

“ _No!_ ”

Ashe was the one who cried out this time, leaning so far forward in his seat that he nearly jumped off the edge of it. Felix wasn’t dead yet, but he was close; he got caught in a powerful attack, and was only just able to get away long enough to heal. But even that didn’t last long – a moment later, a ranged attack came flying at him, and–

“No, no, no!” 

He dodged out of the way, and in the split-second delay between attacks, Felix managed to close in and land a powerful enough blow to initiate the final phase of the fight. 

Ashe screamed. Felix yelled. Lightning burst across the screen, pillars of it flashing at random as Felix ran out of the Sword Saint’s range. 

“You’re doing it! Felix, you’re so close, you–” 

“Shut up, shut up!” 

He healed himself. The bar in the bottom corner gradually started to fill, little by little, and–

“ _Fuck!_ ” 

He went in too soon, and Sekiro was struck down. 

Ashe looked at Felix. 

Slowly, Felix turned to look at Ashe, too.

They stared at each other, eyes wide open. Ashe’s heart raced, thumping against his chest so hard he wondered if his ribs might crack. Felix panted, breaths coming so short and shallow it was as if he’d just finished running a marathon, not playing a video game. 

At the same time, they grinned at each other.

In unison: “One more.” 

* * *

And so, that second “‘one more’ turned into two, into three, into four; and with each new attempt, Felix got just that little bit closer to ending Isshin and finishing the game. But every time, he’d misstep, or take too long to close in, or miss the timing on the deflect, and he would have to start over. 

And then–

“Shit! Felix, he’s one hit! One hit, come on!” 

“I know! Damn it, shut up, I–” 

“There–” 

“No–” 

“Yes! Come on!” 

“Damn it!”

Swing. Swing. _Tap-tap-tap_ on the controller. A quick deflect, another swing, and…

“Felix!” 

The controller fell. 

Felix’s eyes went wide, then slipped shut. Whatever noise he’d been about to make, whatever triumphant shout had been on the tip of his tongue, was lost, muffled against Ashe’s lips as Ashe took Felix’s head in both hands and kissed him. 

It was a short kiss, clumsy and rushed. Felix was tense under Ashe – until he wasn’t. Neither of them moved except to breathe, and it was only with that first breath after their lips connected that Ashe realized what was going on. 

He was kissing Felix. Goddess above, _he_ _had kissed Felix_. 

With that realization, Ashe jumped back, letting go of Felix and scrambling to the opposite end of the couch. 

“Oh. Oh, goddess, Felix, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was–” 

“...Ashe.” 

Whatever incoherent babbling was about to fall from Ashe’s lips was silenced with that one quiet, breathy utterance of his name. His mouth snapped shut, and he watched as Felix reached up to touch his lips, fingers ghosting over them as if chasing the sensation of being kissed. 

And then Felix blinked. The faraway look in his eyes vanished, replaced with the same intense focus he usually held for everything he put his mind to. Ashe swallowed, throat bobbing. Felix’s eyes followed the motion, and he leaned forward, bracing himself on his hands and knees as he moved toward Ashe.

One of Felix’s hands came up to Ashe’s jaw. It was oddly cool on his flushed and overheated skin, even with the remnants of sweat making the touch unpleasantly sticky. It was something odd to fixate on, Ashe knew, in that part of his mind that was still somewhat rational.

He didn’t care. He liked this too much. He liked being this close to Felix – liked being touched by him. 

Liked kissing him.

This time, the kiss was softer. Felix approached slowly, but not hesitantly; and when he pressed his lips to Ashe’s once again, he was shockingly gentle. There was no frantic, hurried movement, no attempt to exorcise adrenaline. 

Ashe sighed into it. He leaned back, relaxing against the couch. Felix nudged forward, tilting his head for a better angle. He moved his lips slowly, gently massaging Ashe’s open, and Ashe let him, a hand coming up to rest on his neck. 

And then they stopped, coming apart with a quiet sound. Felix inclined his head; Ashe pressed their foreheads together. He could still feel Felix’s breath against his lips, even as he tried to catch his own. 

Silence stretched between them, broken only by the ambient sound of the game still running in the background. Neither of them paid it any mind. 

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Felix said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I… I liked it.” 

Ashe smiled. “I did, too.” 

Felix kissed him. Again, and again, and again, they kissed, each one more heated than the last; Ashe slipped down under Felix, and Felix climbed over him, a hand in his hair and a knee between his legs. 

Ashe’s hands came up to roam over Felix’s back, one curving over his slender hips and the other playing with the seam of his neckline. Felix groaned, lips parting as he slipped his tongue into Ashe’s open mouth. Ashe’s skin prickled; a chill shot down his spine, and he arched up in the same moment he pulled Felix down to bring them even closer together. 

When at last they broke apart, Ashe could feel the heat radiating from Felix’s skin. It was too dark to see the way he blushed, but the sensation of warmth almost made up for it. He licked his lips, still tasting Felix on them, and part of Ashe wanted to lean in again.

But he didn’t.

“It’s late,” Felix murmured. 

“Yeah,” Ashe agreed.

“We should go to bed.” 

Another shiver wracked Ashe’s body, one he had no hope of suppressing. “Not going to take me home?” 

“Don’t be an idiot.” But there was a smile in Felix’s voice, one that was, for once, reflected in his face. “You’ve spent the night before, you can stay again.” 

“Won’t that upset Fortune?” 

He expected a derisive snort, or a flick on the forehead, or something – but what Ashe got instead was another kiss, so quick it barely registered but for the pinch of teeth as Felix tugged his lip and pulled back.

And oh, did Ashe want him to do that again. 

“Are you being obtuse on purpose?” Felix asked. He leaned back on his haunches and looked down at Ashe, annoyed but amused. “You know what I meant.” 

“I did.” Ashe sat up, too, shifting so that he could lean far enough forward to kiss Felix this time. “You should probably save the game first, though.” 

* * *

They kissed all through the credits.

* * *

When it was finally time to go to sleep, the two of them crawled into bed together. Felix pulled the covers up over the two of them and Ashe shifted closer, laughing through his nose as the cat meowed through the door. 

“I can’t believe you really named him Fortune,” Ashe said. He felt, rather than saw, Felix shrug. 

“He responded well when you said goodbye that one time,” Felix said, almost defensive. “And Annette and Sylvain have been bugging me to name him forever. I thought that would finally get them to shut up.” 

Ashe’s eyes fluttered shut. He sighed against Felix, cuddling into him as strong arms wrapped around his body. “I really like you,” he said. 

The arms around him tightened briefly, more a reaction than anything else. Felix hummed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “You’ve been up far too long.” 

“I mean it, though! I–” 

A finger against his lips silenced him. Ashe’s eyes rolled up to Felix, who gazed back at him with what Ashe could only call _fondness_ (or maybe it was just how tired he was). 

“We’ll talk about it in the morning,” he said. “But right now, sleep. We could both use the rest.” 

With a slow, sleepy nod, Ashe closed his eyes. “Mm… Yeah. I guess you’re right...” 

“And no talking this time, or I will kick you out.” 

“Okay,” Ashe agreed. He smiled and shuffled in even closer to Felix, his own arm moving up to drape over his side. “Good night, Felix.” 

“Good night, Ashe.” 

And this time, happy and comfortable in Felix’s arms, Ashe fell asleep immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> So can you tell which games in this fic I've actually played or did I manage to fool you all into thinking I'm a Real Gamer™
> 
> If you enjoyed this and think you might like to see more, have a chat, or would like to get to know me, please check out my twitter [@tim3hopp3r](https://twitter.com/tim3hopp3r).
> 
> And if you would like to find out how to support me, I have a handy list of links right [here](https://twitter.com/tim3hopp3r/status/1355219789560471554). Please check it out! I wouldn't be able to do this without people like you supporting me. ♥


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